MIT Wraps Up Season at Endicott

Nov 06, 2010

BEVERLY, Mass. – In its regular-season finale, the MIT football team fell to Endicott College, 38-7, on Saturday. The host Gulls secured their first New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division title in program history behind running back Mike Lane's 222 rushing yards on 35 attempts with three touchdowns.

The Gulls are now 8-2 overall, 6-2 in the division and move on to play Maine Maritime Academy for the New England Football Conference crown next Saturday. MIT dropped to 1-8 overall, and 0-7 in the division following the loss.

On the first drive on the game for the Engineers, a pass by John Wenzel was intercepted by Gulls linebacker Nick Kozlowski who returned the ball 18 yards inside the MIT 10-yard line. The next play by the Endicott offense saw a rush by Lane eight yards into the MIT end zone for the first points of the game.

Two possessions later for the Gulls on 2nd and 15 from their own 43, Lane sprinted through a hole in the defense 57 yards for his second touchdown of the game. The 57-yard run was Lane's longest of the season thus far and gave Endicott a 14-0 lead.

On the next drive, MIT would reach the Endicott 43-yard line before being forced the punt. The Gulls then pulled off a 15 play, 84-yard touchdown drive that took 7:46 off the clock. Junior quarterback Phil Konopka threw for 46 yards on the drive, seven of which coming on the final pass to tight end Taylor Allen to put the Gulls up 21-0. Konopka finished the game 13-of-21 for 123 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown reception for Allen was his team-leading sixth of the season.

The Blue and Green would tack on three more points on a Dylan Rushe 28-yard field goal to take a 24-0 advantage going into halftime.

In the second half, Endicott gained possession after an MIT punt. On their first drive of the new half, Lane posted 71 of his rushing yards, including an 11-yard score that put the home team up 31-0.

Wenzel's punt on the next Engineers possession was fumbled by Endicott's Bill Hickey and picked up by MIT's Rhys Borchert 35 yards for a special teams touchdown. The touchdown cut Endicott's lead down to 31-7.

MIT took the momentum from that drive and marched 71 yards, including a 55-yard bomb to wide out Mike Fitzgerald down the field to the Endicott eight-yard line, only to lose a fumble and turn the ball over. Gulls' defensive lineman Chris Gogolos stripped the ball carrier and Kozlowski recovered the ball to regain possession.

The ensuing drive saw Endicott running back Jared DiBiase rush 10 times for 87 yards to force the Gulls onto the MIT four-yard line. Senior quarterback Matt DeOliveira ran the ball in for the final score of the day, putting the Blue and Green up 38-7 for good. Endicott's CJ Elser intercepted a Wenzel pass on MIT's final drive to solidify the win for the Gulls.

Fitzgerald led all receivers with 58 yards on four catches while Kyle Johnson followed with seven receptions for 57 yards. Wenzel threw for a game-high 145 yards, going 14-of-24 with two interceptions. Defensively for the Engineers, five players earned double-digit tackles with KC Weaver leading the way with 19 tackles, including five solo take downs. Patrick Jupe had 17 tackles while Brian Doyle, Jake Laux, and Matt Merlino each had 13 tackles.

Defensively for the Gulls, Kevin Eagan led the team with nine tackles, including two and a half for a loss of yardage. Two of those tackles behind the line of scrimmage were sacks. Kozlowski, along with his interception and fumble recovery, had a second-best six tackles with one for a loss.